The kick panels and console cover actually don't look as good as I wanted them too. The problem is I don't have any short upholstery staples, so everything has to be held together with glue only, which makes it hard to get the wrinkles 100% out. They do look as good if not better than what Isuzu did in the 1970s, though, so I'm pretty pleased with them! I have no idea how much the leather cost me because it's left over from when I did the interior panels on the Mitsubishi 360. But if I remember right, it was only about 3,000 yen a sheet and I needed like two and a quarter sheets to do everything in the Mitsubishi.

I have no idea how that hole in the rear fender got there... It's too round to be a rust hole or anything. I'm still mulling over what to do about it. I sure don't want to sand back and repaint, though. I think for now I'll do what I did with the door mirror holes on my Honda Life. I'll mask off the area, and then fill the hole with black silicone. That way water won't get in. Then, in the future when I have a bigger garage, I can deal with it properly without having to battle rust as well.

Wheels are something that I have been thinking about on a daily basis for like the past year, haha. I still don't have a good solution. What I think I would like most are some original Hakosuka/KenMary Topy steelies, but those are way too expensive. I sure do like the understated look of them though:

I was also leaning a bit towards 117 Coupe wheels as well. This set in particular:

Although, what I'll probably end up doing is grabbing a cheap set of steelies off of some random car and paint them black until I can make up my mind about what I really want.

Also, thanks for the picture of the rally Bellett darkstrike, that thing is awesome! I may have to end up borrowing some of the neat stuff on that car since I'm building a kind of rally look with mine.

The car is looking great man! Getting the car back together, then finding a mysterious hole in the body has to seriously suck. Well heck your this far, you might as well just ignore it for now, then when you get the car back to the states, you can always redo that panel and/or the entire paint job if you like when you have more time, space, and tools to work with. Kudos though man, your doing a kick ass job. Love the leather work.

Always an inspiration here. Nothing beats a set of black steels, at least until you can select something more long-term... Though, a few of my cars I had black steels on for their whole life as well. Neko.

It's about time I update this thread! Although to be fair, there haven't been any updates because I haven't had any time to make any progress. I did manage to carve away this last weekend for some work though!

First, I managed to pilfer a rear Bellett trim piece off a parts car from Classic Car Nagoya. That trim piece didn't have nay red in the letters though, so after a few minutes with some tape and a razor blade, I had a nicely masked emblem ready for paint!

While the paint on that was drying, I installed the license plate lights.

After letting the paint dry thoroughly, I peeled off all the masking and was super pleased with how it turned out!

It looks pretty stellar on the car!

Next, I pushed the car back and wheeled the engine out.

The reason I wheeled the engine out was because I went shopping!

Yup, it's time to do the one thing I've been dreading for a long time. Honing.

Let me preface this by saying that not only am I complete amateur, I also totally don't have any of the right tools for doing this job correctly. Do not use my build as a guide for how to build your own motor. I am doing this on the cheap and going at it as a learning experience. I will be super surprised if it starts and runs reliably.

Now, I didn't have a good pair of calipers to zero out my bore gauge with because I'm broke and I figured a good torque wrench was more important. So, I measured each of the four cylinders and chose the smallest bore as my zero point. I then looked up the maximum wear measurements for the engine, which are 0.041 to 0.066 mm over. So, I broke out the hone and got to work, trying to make sure that I didn't take out more than 0.07 mm of material.

Here's what i started with. It's hard to see, but the real worry spot is about halfway down the cylinder where the rust is pretty deep.

After a bit of work, here's about 0.01 mm removed.

Even more removed.

And this is with about 0.05 mm removed.

I spent maybe four hours of work getting it to that point and spent around another hour working on it past there, trying to get that last little bit of rust removed. Currently, it's sitting at a hair over 0.06 mm removed. By the time I get all the rust gone, I'll probably be pushing 0.075 mm of material taken out, which is a bit too much, but I'm praying it'll be alright.

Of course, the right way to do this would be to punch it out and grab some oversized pistons. There are two major problems with that though. First, I can't find oversized pistons for the G180SS (the G180 used in the LUV runs low compression pistons). Second, I'm broke, so even if I did find them, I couldn't afford the block work to fit the pistons.

Unfortunately, the honing tool I'm using was never designed to take out this much material and the grinding blocks wore out pretty quick. So, I've got another one on order (they're pretty cheap), but that won't get here until next weekend.

Here's hoping the 0.075mm honing won't hurt anything! There are some pretty tight tolerances in there though, so we'll have to see!

That red Bellet logo on the back looks great! I an awesome little detail that adds to the overall presence of the car. Am I the only one that thinks it just looks odd when the trunk lid is open and those license plate lights are just sitting on the edge of it like that? Haha!

I need to find myself a decent but cheap torque wrench like that one....I've got a HUGE one I was given for a birthday present, but I don't have a 'normal' sized one yet!

Here's hoping the 0.075mm honing won't hurt anything! There are some pretty tight tolerances in there though, so we'll have to see!

That red Bellet logo on the back looks great! I an awesome little detail that adds to the overall presence of the car. Am I the only one that thinks it just looks odd when the trunk lid is open and those license plate lights are just sitting on the edge of it like that? Haha!

I need to find myself a decent but cheap torque wrench like that one....I've got a HUGE one I was given for a birthday present, but I don't have a 'normal' sized one yet!

Glad to finally see Bellet updates again, keep it up David!

Don't know if you guys have Harbor Freight in Canada, and before anyone flames me for using Harbor Freight products, SOME of their tools are decent quality. The wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc. have come a long way in the last few years. I picked up a 1/2" drive torque wrench from them on sale one weekend for $5, and tested it against my professionally calibrated craftsman, and it is dead nuts on accurate. I have a couple friends that use these torque wrenches as well that have good luck with them. Don't hesitate because of the brand. I think the normal price for the wrench I bought was like $15-$20, can't remember for sure. They also carry a 3/8" drive torque wrench as well.

Thanks for the comments darkstrike! I'm hoping the overbore doesn't hurt anything either. Even if the motor does run, I'm fairly certain it's going to have to come back out and get a proper build in the future. Hopefully it'll run long enough for me to build up the funds to afford that. Priority number one right now is getting it running long enough to get it on a boat to ship it home.

Well, I had a business trip this last week, so I was pretty beat over the weekend. I did manage to get downstairs for a bit and get a bit more work done though.

After a little more honing and measuring and checking I ended up with this.

The picture is kind of dark, but it looks super clean. Unfortunately, if you look really close, there's still just a few pits of rust in there.

I didn't want to take it any further out because I checked the ring end gap and I was just above the outer limit already. So, I ran the hone real slow up and down to get a good cross hatch in it while taking out the minimum amount of material. It's not beautiful or perfect, but hopefully it'll get the job done. To give a reference, this is what I started with.

Compared to that, I'd say my chances of the engine running aren't completely shot. Next up was getting the crankshaft in so I could pop the pistons in. First though, I had to drop new bearings in.

Disclaimer time again. The right way to do this is to torque the end caps down without the crank or bearings installed and measure the bore size of each section. Then use calipers to measure the crank journal and figure out what size bearings to put in so you have the perfect clearance. Then, once you have the bearings in place, you use special assembly lube on all surfaces. I didn't do any of that. If you are building your own engine, do not do it the way I did.

With the bearings in place, I popped the crank in and torqued down the end caps. Since I don't have any assembly lube, I just used good old motor oil to make sure everything rotated nice and smooth. Not the best, but better than assembling dry.

Next, the pistons had to go in, but they needed a good cleaning first.

Once clean, new rings went on with the end gaps oriented correctly.

Time to put the pistons in, but I don't have a ring compressor. Fortunately, I have a big hose clamp and a piece of 100 yen plastic sheet I bought at the home center.

A nice little tap, tap, tap on the top of the piston and it slotted right in! Did the same for all four pistons and torqued the con rod caps down (with new con rod bearings of course).

Next, the lay shaft and drive gears went on.

Then, I cleaned and installed the oil pump and pickup.

It was at this point that i realized the drive gears had to come back off because I have a bunch of seals and plates and stuff that have to be installed first. I opened up all my seals for the Chevy Luv and spent the next hour trying to figure out where each one went.

And that's where I threw in the towel! I was pretty beat already, so I called it quits early. I still have a lot of work to do on the engine and still need a few new parts, most notably, a water pump.

Looks good David! Clever way to get the pistons in without the right tool

I don't think those remaining rust pits are big enough to do any damage, but it's hard to say! At most, if the overbore affects the engine, wouldn't it just mean the compression wouldn't be as high as it should be on that cylinder?

not sure if this would work on the engine you have there but here in australia we swap in gemini pistons and rods into our 1500/1600 engines a bit more options on piston size there!its looking really good so far and as far as worrying about the bores well i probably would have done the same thing! the hole in the body fix would another option be finding a gt badge of some sort with a single pin on it to put over it?keep it up love your work!

Holy back from the dead batman! My job has been sending me on so many business trips, I can't keep 'em straight anymore. I'm going to Burma twice within the next month, so prep for that has been through the roof! I have managed to get down and steal a few days to work on the engine though.

Darkstrike, I don't think the rust pit will cause too much of a problem, although worst case scenario is it chews through the rings and I lose compression completely on that cylinder. Hopefully, by the time that happens I'll have the car back in the states and I can do a full on proper rebuild, making sure that everything is measured out to perfection with oversized pistons. As far as being bored out a little too far, I think the worst that will happen is it will just burn a bit of oil, like as if the motor already had 100,000 miles on it or something.

Mrfibbles, thanks for the heads up on the Gemini pistons! In the states, the Chevy Luv came with the same engine only lower comp pistons, so I might hunt around and see if I can find some "performance" high comp Luv pistons. Worst case scenario, I'll just rebuild it with the Chevy Luv pistons, that engine is only about 10 to 15 hp down on the Bellett engine anyways.

Alright, picking up from where i left off, the gears came back off so this plate could go on. I hit it with a lick of paint first though.

While the paint was drying, I pulled out my brand new water pump and got it ready.

I printed out an old picture to help me remember where everything went and in what orientation. May not seem like much, but this one picture helped immensely!

Everything back in place!

Next up, I wanted to get the broken off thermostat housing bolts out of the head. The first one came out pretty easy using some heat and a pair of vice grips.

The second one required a drill and a tap, but it all ended up alright! Next up, I was cleaning the head so I could get it ready to pop back on! (Note: I did not use that steel wire brush on the ground to clean the head. That would have not been pretty, haha.)

Before the head can go back on though, the front cover plate has to go on.

Next up was cleaning the cam carrier and popping in a new rubber seal.

Then I installed the cam carrier to the head on the bench.

But, I got the order wrong again, haha. The head bolts can't be fit through the head with the cam carrier in place. So, it had to come off again once I had the head sitting on the block. But, before I dropped the head on, I ran a tap through all the head bolt holes. This helps clean out all the gunk and grease that's down there, ensuring that all the head bolts torque to the same spec.

You can see some of the gunk the tap pulled out here.

New head gasket in place.

Cylinder head fully installed with cam carrier back in place!

While I had easy access to everything, I went ahead and decided to adjust the valve clearances. The intake was set to 0.1 mm and the exhaust to 0.15 mm.

And that was all the hard scary bits, now came the fun part of bolting on the smaller pieces to the engine. First up was the fuel pump.

Then the distributor came apart to get cleaned...

... regreased...

... and re-installed.

The two covers went back on the front of the engine with new gaskets. It's starting to look like a motor again!

Next was a new rear main seal.

Then the oil pan went on. I didn't repaint it because I plan on hitting it with POR-15 in the future (at the same time that I POR-15 the entire underside of the car).

The valve cover plate thing went on next.

Then the oil pressure sensor and transmission mounts.

Next up was the oil filter mount, which required a new gasket to be hand cut. Not simple, but turned out alright.

And installed! It's amazing how quickly the side of the engine gets cluttered up.

Next, the exhaust and intake manifold went on along with the thermostat housing.

Then I installed the motor mounts (the left side one doubles as the alternator mount), the alternator and the water pump pulley.

Finally, I gave the fan a bit of a sanding and hit it with some silver paint!

It's just about ready to drop in! I just need to clean the transmission and mount up and borrow an engine lift!

I'm assuming the G180SS came with the dual Hitachi SU type carbs? If so a really worth while upgrade for both power and drivability would be to swap the Hitachi's out for SU HS6's. They're a much more simple carb and nowhere near as finicky as the Hitachi's. Plus you can get a rebuilt set of HS6's for around the price of one Weber 45!

I'm doing the HS6 conversion to a U20 engine from a Datsun roadster. I got the tip off from a guy with a 240Z, he said it transformed the engine completely.

Just my 2¢

Great updates by the way, I'm glad to see your sticking with the SOHC instead of swapping it out for a DOHC. I like when people give the single cams a chance lol

Damn that went together quickly. It will be cool when you get this one running.

Thanks! I had all the parts, I just needed the time. I stole a few days for myself in the middle of my insane business trips. I can't wait to hear it crank for the first time!

darkstrike wrote:

Wow, that looks great! Leaps and bounds better than the rusty, dirty hulk that was sitting in the engine bay! Kudos!If you did have to go with the Luv stock pistons, 10-15hp shouldn't make too much of a difference.Can't wait to see it all back together! Liking your rim choice as well if those are what I think they are!

Thanks man! I'm guessing you're looking at the Watanabes that I uploaded to my Photobucket. Unfortunately, those are not for me. My buddy in the States ordered that set and they're soon to be on their way to America! (Kel, dude, sorry for the MIA, hard to keep up to date when I'm spending all my time not at home. I can't wait for this Burma trip to be over and done with...)

ColoradoKP wrote:

I'm assuming the G180SS came with the dual Hitachi SU type carbs? If so a really worth while upgrade for both power and drivability would be to swap the Hitachi's out for SU HS6's. They're a much more simple carb and nowhere near as finicky as the Hitachi's. Plus you can get a rebuilt set of HS6's for around the price of one Weber 45!I'm doing the HS6 conversion to a U20 engine from a Datsun roadster. I got the tip off from a guy with a 240Z, he said it transformed the engine completely. Just my 2¢Great updates by the way, I'm glad to see your sticking with the SOHC instead of swapping it out for a DOHC. I like when people give the single cams a chance lol

Thanks! For more info on the carbs, check the update below! I'm personally a huge fan of SOHC engines, having spent most of my life driving a Z31 with the VG30 in it. Twin Cams are nice, but SOHC engines have a special sound and character all their own!

I stole one more day to get into the garage and get some work done. Unfortunately, that was probably the last day this month I'll be able to get back down there. I'm headed to Burma twice this month with two business trips to Tokyo planned in between the trips!

Since the engine was mostly back together and I still don't have an engine crane, I decided it was time to crack into the carburetors!

I dismantled the first carb enough to get cleaning fluid into all the bits but I left all the linkages and what not still attached.

After some thorough cleaning, brushing, scrubbing and re-assembly, I finally had one carb done and ready to go.

During the whole process I was looking for any marks or indicators as to who built the carbs or what model they were specifically, so I could figure out if they were Hitachis, like ColoradoKP mentioned. The only marking on the entire carb is this simple little "ISO" mark (or "OSI" mark if the carb is flipped). Not sure if that's any indication as to what carb exactly this is.

I then set off into the second carb but this one was considerably worse than the first one. The big dashpot, needle, vacuum, slide thingy was seized in there and the jet (which is supposed to move when the choke lever is pulled) was completely frozen in place. Some careful prying and hammering and I managed to get everything free. After a few hours of cleaning and scrubbing, I got it all back together and back on the engine!

Of course, now that both carbs were back on, I couldn't just leave it at that. I took the air filter backing plate and hit it with some quick black paint. After it was fully dried I bolted it right on!

Then I sanded back the air cleaner itself and hit it with some new red paint!

Turned out pretty good!

Now I seriously need to get my hands on a engine crane and drop this bad boy in. Unfortunately, that's going to have to wait until work settles down a bit cause right now it's mental bananas!

During the whole process I was looking for any marks or indicators as to who built the carbs or what model they were specifically, so I could figure out if they were Hitachis, like ColoradoKP mentioned. The only marking on the entire carb is this simple little "ISO" mark (or "OSI" mark if the carb is flipped).